“Come!! North wind!!”
Woosh!!
The wind wrapped around Snow’s arm.
She then aimed her arm at the hobgoblin.
“Feuer! 《Fire!》!”
Bang!
“GOB!!??”
Wow! Amazing, she blew off the hobgoblin’s arm in one shot.
Was that… magic?
I didn’t hear any incantation necessary for offensive spells, though…
“Nice, Snow. Alright, here we go!”
Taking advantage of the hobgoblin’s confusion, Aki rushed in.
Using his long limbs in unarmed combat, and then—
“Summoning magic—Sturm-Era—Magical Sword”
Aki drew out a sword shaped from magic out of thin air.
He stepped forward and cut off the hob’s arm.
“It’s light…! I see, so this is a dungeon!”
“The concentration of magical energy seems to have increased… this should be easy, Aki.”
“Don’t get complacent, Snow. Haru, Natsu! Are you ready yet!? Otherwise, we’ll end this ourselves.”
Aki and Snow toyed with the hobgoblin.
They’re more experienced than I had imagined.
With this, they should be able to hunt the second-floor monsters as well.
It seems like reincarnated heroes really come in all shapes and sizes.
And now, it looks like the Ayukawa siblings are ready.
“Gift activation!”
“Heroic Spirit Summoning” “Heroic Spirit Possession”
“Oh…”
A tense shift in the air.
Blue light appeared at the sisters’ feet, giving birth to a phantom.
A figure clad in thick, knightly armor—translucent, yet human-like.
Interesting!
That is… a dense cluster of magical energy and some inexplicable force.
Oh no, I ended up using my Spirit Sight without thinking.
Incredible!
The magical energy forming it isn’t from the Ayukawa siblings; it belongs to the phantom itself.
And then—
“Snow, Aki, we’re going to finish this!”
The same blue light glowed on the left hand of the younger Ayukawa sibling.
It quickly transformed into something resembling a gauntlet from knight’s armor.
I see, judging by the names of their gifts, these two each have a summoning-type ability and a variant of it.
Wow! They’re really strong!
A hobgoblin is no match for them!
I see, Snow and Aki take the front line to attract attention, while the siblings use their powerful gifts, which take time to activate, to crush the enemy.
A classic approach.
That’s why it’s such a solid battle strategy.
Against an opponent without superior strength, they can’t lose.
“GOBUUUUUUUUU!!”
“Ah!?” “Oops!”
But they’re still too naive.
The hobgoblin’s attention slipped past the front line and reached the rear guard.
It slipped past Snow and Aki, who were holding the front line, and made its way toward me and Kotori, who were too relaxed.
Huh, it’s smart. Surviving up to the hobgoblin level means it can identify weaknesses among its opponents’ ranks.
Alright, time to enjoy this challenge again.
Next, I’ll aim for a grappling technique—
“Eek! S-stay awayyyyyyyyy!!”
Kotori’s voice was far more frightened than I had expected. If she tried to run away, that would be troublesome—I thought that for just a moment.
Clap!
Kotori clapped her hands together—
“My, my, m-my Gift, activate!!! ‘Salt Pillar’!”
“GOBUUUUUU!?”
Thud!
Whoa! Amazing!
Spikes suddenly sprouted from the ground and pierced the hobgoblin’s belly! Those milky-white spikes… they’re made of salt!
“Kotori, that’s awesome!”
“Huh!? N-no, it’s really not that amazing~. I just practiced because the main character of a manga I used to like had a similar technique~.”
“Kotori, nice job!! As expected of my friend!!”
“—W-wait, fr-friend!!??”
Snow winked at Kotori while delivering a moonsault kick to the back of the hobgoblin’s head.
She’s wearing a skirt, though—is that okay?
Kotori, flustered but determined, kept creating salt pillars and accurately finished off the hobgoblin.
Wow, these people are seriously strong.
“GOBUUUUUUUUUU!! … GOBU!?”
A hobgoblin lurking in the shadows tried to attack from behind, but I smacked its wrist and took its knife.
Even without spirit power, as long as I have a weapon—there!
I stabbed the knife into its eye, pulled it out, and then slit its exposed throat—
“GABU…”
“All done.”
My experience fighting bandits came in handy here.
Ah, fighting is fun. Recently, using spirit power makes it almost a one-hit KO, so fighting without it is good training.
Well, since it’s in the middle of a chaotic battle, no one noticed. And I didn’t use any spirit power.
“…K-Kasuya , you’re really strong, aren’t you? Even without magic, doing something like that…”
“I train every day, you see. Lots of strength training.”
“S-strength training, that’s impressive.”
Kotori seemed convinced, so that’s good!
And with that, we safely finished the battle.
“Look at that! Snow’s team is incredible, as expected…”
“Yeah, even though several teams have already dropped out due to injuries.”
“They’ve already taken down the second-floor monsters…”
“And they hardly even used their Gifts…”
The others hiding nearby came out of their hiding places.
Honestly, these people shouldn’t aim for the second floor. At their level, they could easily get themselves killed fighting a hobgoblin.
—There’s nothing more unpleasant than a weakling who refuses to acknowledge their own weakness.
Well, it’s none of my business, they’re strangers to me. Whether they live or die is not my concern.
“…Hey! You over there! Did you see that!? That’s the power of the second-floor monsters! To be blunt, they’ll easily kill untrained humans!”
Aki called out to the people hiding and whispering.
“Honestly, your survival doesn’t matter much to me! But if you try to mimic us and head to the second floor without being ready, I won’t feel good about it when you die! So, I’m warning you! Turn back now!”
“Aki? What’s the matter?”
“Snow, stay out of this. Look, sorry, but our leader is a bit of a fool. If you lot stumble around in front of us, he might try to save you! I’ll be blunt! You’re a burden!”
Aki’s words drew grumbles from the surrounding students, especially from those who weren’t reincarnated heroes—nobles or commoners from this world.
Oh, oh, some of them are leaking magical energy.
Lack of training, I see.
Still, Aki’s pretty bold, taking on the role of the bad guy like that.
I’ll give him 10 curse points! It’d be a waste to let him die.
“Y-you, shut up! Just because you’re a reincarnated hero or the fiancée of the first prince, you think you have the right to dictate our actions!? A knight of the border region should know their place!”
Oh, now a well-dressed team in fancy cloaks is protesting. Nobles from this world, huh? Most magic users seem to come from the noble class.
“Oh, is that ignorance I hear? Or are you genuinely that stupid? You really don’t know the power of the border region’s house? Haha, that’s typical of a sheltered noble who’s never left the imperial capital. It seems power and intellect really do go hand in hand.”
“W-what did you say!?”
…Aki looks pretty lively, doesn’t he? His taunting skills are impressive.
And neither Snow nor Haru seems to be trying to stop him…
Well, I don’t need to stand out, so I’ll keep my head down quietly.
Oh, this hobgoblin’s knife has poison on it… might come in handy, so I’ll sneak it into my item box.
The moment I secretly stashed the knife into the palm-sized space—
“It’s true! If you’re going to the second floor, make sure you can at least defeat a hobgoblin! Or—like that Kasuya guy over there—be strong enough to fight monsters in close combat without using magic!”
“Huh?”
What is he talking about all of a sudden?
“W-what? Without magic? What are you saying? And, Kasuya , you say? I know him! He’s a washed-up reincarnated hero! A disgraced, homeless criminal who was put on trial once, wasn’t he? Haha! How the mighty have fallen! The border region’s house, taking in such a rat—hieee!?”
The noble in the cloak let out a shriek. His feet froze in an instant, forming a pillar beneath him.
Snow was surrounded by a faint, white glow.
“It’s true. He can fight monsters without using magic. Because he’s trained. Unlike you, who waste your parents’ money while living in luxury. And let me correct you—he is neither a rat nor a criminal, nor is he homeless. He is my friend and a competent reincarnated hero, Kasuya Takihito.”
Huh? That makes me genuinely happy.
Thank you, Snow.
But it’s surprising; I thought she was the kind of person who’d be gentler with others…
“Oh dear, Snow’s upset. She’s pretty strict with nobles, you know?”
“Heh.”
Haru whispered to me softly, a sweet scent like expensive soap wafting over.
As expected from an active top idol—showbiz is no joke.
“Y-you, how dare you use magic on me—”
“Oh, I apologize. As you said, I’m a reincarnated hero from the so-called fallen house of the border region. My Gift might get out of control, you know. …I don’t consider those who refuse to fulfill their duties and only seek to profit as my fellow nobles. You’re an eyesore, so leave unless you want to die.”
Snow swung her head and continued forward.
Wow… she’s so cool. I love a protagonist who speaks their mind.
Ah, I’d love to be hit with one of Snow’s ‘truth bombs’ someday.
“Well, that’s that. Like I said before, you lot are weaker than Kasuya , who doesn’t even use magic. …Don’t insult my friend. If I hear you badmouthing him again, I’ll show you the power of a knight from the border region. Let’s go, Kasuya , everyone—look, Snow is walking so fast because she’s embarrassed about losing her cool.”
“Wait! We’re not finished yet—” “Damn it! Remember this!” “You’ll regret this!”
They left a few parting threats, but no one else had any complaints.
Leaving them behind, we moved forward.
Aki and the others quickened their pace to catch up with the fast-walking Snow.
I stayed at the back, keeping a slight distance.
Hmm, I wonder if those guys will try anything.
…I sensed clear malice. They are privileged individuals; likely, no one of their generation has ever defied them. What will you do?
Nothing, for now.
But those guys might have nearly exposed my perfect act of being a background character.
Well, if they interfere further, or continue to bother me—
—I’ll just kill them.
“It’ll be fine to kill them, right? It seems easy enough to cover up here.”
…You truly are a terrifying person, aren’t you?
